HEARTLESS thieves have been trying to steal the ceramic poppies from the Tower of London, according to the artist behind the iconic installation.

Paul Cummins, the creator of the hugely successful Blood-Swept Lands and Seas of Red, has complained that callous crooks have even broken into lorries used to transport the 888,246 poppies away from the London landmark.

Visited by more than five million people, the major installation marked one hundred years since the first full day of Britain's involvement in the First World War.

Working together with Royal Shakespeare Company stage designer Tom Piper, Mr Cummins arranged for the Tower's famous moat to be progressively filled with the red flowers between 17 July and 11 November 2014.

Each poppy represented a British and Commonwealth military fatality during the war.

The poppies encircled the iconic London landmark, creating not only a spectacular display visible from all around the Tower but also a location for personal reflection.

The scale of the installation was intended to reflect the magnitude of such an important centenary and create a powerful visual commemoration.

The last poppy is scheduled to be removed on November 28 and they will then be shipped to the people that bought them from all over the world.

But much to the horror of Mr Cummins - and indeed the wider British public - criminals have been trying to get hold of the flowers, which sold for £25 each.

The sales have raised millions of pounds, which will be equally shared between six service charities including Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.

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A volunteer helper walks past boxes of poppies waiting to be dispatched to their new owners

Each poppy is dismantled by a volunteer before being sent to a distribution centre where they are being cleaned and packaged.

The Derbyshire-based artist said: "When they were taken out of the moat, people were breaking into the lorries to try and get them.

"They have been trying to do this ever since we put them in.

"So many people want them but we are not making any more, because I thought it would be disrespectful to the people who died.

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The flowers are sent to a dispatch centre where they are cleaned and packed

Up to a thousand volunteers have been removing around 75,000 poppies per day from the moat since the day after Armistice Day.

Angry Mr Cummins added: "There are hundreds of thousands of people who want them."

"I am not happy. It is disrespectful to the people who bought them and made them and to the people they represent."